


Not Part of the Plan

by BergaraHoe (flannelfeelings)



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Amy Santiago Loves Jake Peralta, But boy are these two in love, Couch Cuddles, Denial of Feelings, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotionally stunted Jake, F/M, Falling In Love, Flirting, Fluff, Fluffy, Funny, Hiding Feelings, Hurt/Comfort, Insecurity, Jake Peralta Loves Amy Santiago, Jake Peralta/Amy Santiago - Freeform, Jake is himself, Missing Scene, Mutual Pining, Peraltiago, Periods, Pining, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Protective Jake Peralta, SO. MUCH. PINING, Season 2, Sweet jake peralta, Teasing, Unbeta'd, amy santiago - Freeform, jake peralta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 16:55:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24050179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flannelfeelings/pseuds/BergaraHoe
Summary: Thursday nights are reserved for Amy to go help Jake with his horrible disaster of a budget. It's a weekly thing that they both look forward to more than they'd like to admit.One Thursday, Amy's body decides to have terrible timing, and she's humiliated.However, Jake Peralta has always been full of surprises.
Relationships: Jake Peralta/Amy Santiago
Comments: 14
Kudos: 231





	Not Part of the Plan

**Author's Note:**

> alright!!! this is set in s2 after jake and amy are both done with sophia/teddy so both single and friends. mutual pining for one another
> 
> idek what this is its just a mess of fluff and pining sorry lol (i dont have a beta reader sorry for mistakes)
> 
> enjoy and lmk ur thoughts!!

Amy Santiago wasn’t exactly sure when Jake Peralta had become her friend, instead of just an annoying workplace nuisance. Maybe it was sometime following his return from his undercover mission with the Ianucci crime family, when he’d assured her that he was going to get over his crush on her. Maybe it was after she broke up with Teddy, who exposed the fact that she liked Jake too. Maybe it was when she saw how hurt he’d been when Sophia dumped him, leaving them both single, which of course didn’t matter to Amy…but it was nice to see that Jake had real feelings.

Now though, he was a friend. Her hopeless feelings for him aside, they trusted each other. They laughed together. They had each other’s backs.

Which was why she went to his apartment every Thursday night to help him with his budget. As incredible of a detective as he was, financials seemed to turn him into a blubbering baby with no compass.

He opened the door to greet her with his wide, goofy grin. He was clad in his usual after-work getup: a pair of gray joggers and an old _Die Hard_ t-shirt. Amy secretly loved him in that shirt, it accented his toned chest pretty nicely. Although, Bruce Willis’ face did distract her from his physique. But not enough to matter.

“Guess what I got for Budget Night?” he asked her rhetorically as he stepped aside to invite her into the apartment. She rolled her eyes at his coined nickname for their financial review, but still played along.

“A renewed sense of fiscal responsibility?” she asked hopefully.

Jake snorted, “Good one Santiago. No, I got something that _matters._ Takis!”

Amy couldn’t help the way her face lit up at the mention of her favorite snack. She was ashamed to admit how much she loved the spicy, artificially flavored rolled chips. She’d squirt lime all over them and go to town until her fingertips were stained red with flavoring for a week. Jake hated them (he was a baby when it came to spice) but he’d gone out of his way to get them for her.

She tried not to read into that too much. That’s what friends did, wasn’t it? Besides, she was due to start her period soon and she’d been craving them badly. She wasn’t going to take it for granted.

“I even went to the farmers market and got _lima._ The fruit seller lady told me that’s how you say it in Spanish.” He gestured to his cluttered kitchen counter where a bag of fresh limes was situated beside his internet router and a pile of unopened mail.

She added ‘open the mail’ to her mental checklist for Budget Night, before offering him a smile, “Thanks Jake. You didn’t have to do that.”

He shrugged, “I figure I owed you something since you spend your Thursdays here micromanaging my spending. Should I be paying you?”

Amy chuckled, “Like you could afford me, Peralta.”

“Santiago, you _have_ to know what I’m about to say-”

“If you say _“title of your sextape”_ I’m gonna take my Takis and leave.” She threatened teasingly.

Jake threw his hands up defensively, chuckling, “Fair enough. I ordered a couple pizzas, have you eaten dinner yet?”

She shook her head, “No I didn’t. Thanks. Should we get started?”

He nodded, “Let’s do it.”

The first batch of budgeting was for his next week of groceries and bills. He had his car insurance due in three days and they got paid on Friday, so he’d be set for that. He’d need to take out some from this check for rent due in two weeks, and $100 for his savings, as per Amy’s insistence. Their first night of budgeting had left her horrified to see his savings account was non-existent. She’d dragged him to the bank the next day to set it up.

“And then other than the credit cards due on the 18th…” she murmured after swallowing another bite of pizza, studying their calendar closely, “You should have nearly $750 leftover as disposable income until your next check.”

Jake shook his head, licking grease off of his lips from his fourth slice of meat lovers. Amy tried not to let that suggestive action distract her from the task at hand as he replied, “Damn Santiago. I never realized how much money I actually have until you started telling me what to do with it.”

She rolled her eyes, “Hence the crushing debt, right?”

Jake laughed as he got up from the table to grab a refill of his orange soda from the kitchen. Amy realized she needed to pee, and stood too, letting him know she’d be right back. He nodded without looking back at her and she headed through the small apartment to the restroom.

Only to discover, to her horror, that her period had decided to show up at the worst time. She’d rushed over after her shift in a hurry, so she had no backup products on her. Not only that, but she’d bled through her gray slacks.

 _Okay Amy_ , she gave herself a silent pep talk, _it’s gonna be fine. You have a blazer on the chair at the table. Get out there without turning your back to him, tie it around your waist, and come up with a fake emergency._

Not exactly a foolproof plan, but it was all she had. With a deep inhale, she stood from the toilet and washed her hands, hoping and praying she could execute this perfectly.

She pried the door open a bit, peaking out to see Jake sitting at the kitchen table again, his back to her. He’d abandoned what was left of the pizza in favor of a bag of sour worms, and he’d set out the Takis and limes for her with a knife to slice them.

She resisted the urge to smile. Everytime she was with Jake he always tried to stuff her face with food. Maybe it was how he showed affection, or maybe he just expected everyone to be a bottomless pit like he was, but her belt buckle was certainly unhappy with the new form of friendship.

Slowly, Amy shuffled out of the bathroom and walked sideways past Jake, keeping her back to the couch and away from him. He looked up as she entered, brows furrowing a bit.

“You alright? You were in there for a while.”

She half-expected a crude toilet joke or some sort of sexual retort about what she could’ve been doing in the bathroom, but he said nothing else. Just looked at her expectantly.

“Uh.” Amy kicked herself mentally for sounding like an idiot, “I’m good.” She grabbed her blazer off the back of the kitchen chair and wrapped it around her waist.

“Okay.” He replied, seeming a bit dubious but obviously could tell it wasn’t an issue that should be pressed.

“I have to leave.” She said stupidly.

Jake’s frown deepened, and he glanced behind him at the bathroom, then back up to her. He bit the inside of his cheek for a moment, seeming to deliberate. He spoke after a moment, “Did I...do something wrong?”

“What?” she was taken aback by the sincerity and genuine concern in his voice. He thought he’d done something to offend her? After buying her dinner and going out of his way to find her favorite snack?

“Of course not.” She assured him, suddenly feeling guilty for her abrupt departure. She hadn’t meant to offend him. He’d been nothing but kind and accommodating. But it was far too mortifying to tell him the truth.

She couldn’t even imagine. Telling Detective “Title of Your Sex Tape” that she’d gotten her period and bled through her pantsuit. She’d never hear the end of it.

“I just...don’t wanna be on the subway too late.” Amy’s voice came out more frantic and scrambling than she’d intended, “I heard there’s been a string of assaults on my block so…better safe than sorry.”

Jake quirked an eyebrow up, a bit of relief evident on his face, “Oh, well I can give you a ride.” He started to get out of his chair.

“No!” Amy’s voice was a shrill squeak and it stopped him in his tracks, looking at her with utter confusion.

The silence filled the air like water in a balloon about to burst. Amy felt her chest tighten with anxiety as she wondered why he wasn’t saying anything. Why wasn’t _she_ saying anything?! They just stared at each other tensely for a moment, neither one really knowing what to say.

Jake’s big brown eyes flitted from the blazer at her waist, up to her face, and in a cautiously teasing voice, he asked, “Did you poop your pants, Santiago?”

Amy couldn’t help the frantic laugh that spilled from her throat, even though his obviously joking question made her want to die, “No you idiot! I got my...period. I don’t have anything with me, and my pants are ruined.”

His eyes widened, and his shoulders stiffened as he stared at her in shock, “ _Oh_.”

“Yeah.” She grimaced, face burning red with shame, “I’m gonna leave.”

“Wait!” his voice came out strangled and unsure, but she stopped, looking at him curiously. Jake ran a hand through his trussed curls, and held one finger up to her, “Hold on.” He said before scurrying back off toward his bathroom.

Amy frowned in confusion, fidgeting uncomfortably as she stood in the now empty kitchen. She heard him shuffling around in the bathroom and then his bedroom for a moment, before he returned with a bundled up pair of sweatpants and an NYPD t-shirt in one arm, and a clutch of tampons and pads in the other.

Amy’s eyes zeroed in on the sanitary products in disbelief, “ _Why_ do you have-”

“This used to be Gina’s place.” He explained quickly, though he looked at the floor as he spoke.

Amy crossed her arms, “Gina definitely took all her tampons with her, Jake!”

Jake’s cheeks were a bit red, and he still wouldn’t meet her eyes, “Alright. I bought them when I was dating Sophia...just in case she was here and needed them.” he cringed, visibly embarrassed.

Amy felt her expression soften as her heart swelled, “That’s...really thoughtful of you Jake.”

“It was dumb.” He shrugged dismissively, clearly not loving the praise, “But I guess it came in handy, huh?” He didn’t let her reply, because he was speaking again, “Wait, that was months ago… these don’t expire do they?” he started folding the products over in his hand, studying them curiously.

Amy laughed, “They should be fine.” She glanced at his other arm, the one with the clothes, “Sweats?”

“Oh.” He seemed to remember his hands were full, “I thought you might wanna change. If you want to be alone, I get it. I can drive you home. But um...if you wanna stay and eat Takis and watch Netflix that might be nice too, right?” He shrugged, “I know when I don’t feel good I like to have someone there with me.”

Amy was truly at a loss for words. She couldn’t believe this was coming from Jake Peralta, certified immature by every standard. There he was, standing in his kitchen with comfortable clothes and pads in his arms, telling her earnestly, with no humor in his expression, that he wanted to watch movies with her and let her wear his sweatpants.

Was that what friends did? Rush to give you their secret stash of feminine products and pajamas so you didn’t leave their house earlier than planned? Try to entice you into staying with snacks and Netflix?

Or was it possible that this reaction meant Jake felt the same way as her still? Maybe he had rediscovered his feelings for her after things didn’t work out with Sophia. Maybe this wasn’t as one-sided as she feared.

Or maybe not. Maybe she was emotional, and embarrassed, and she was getting her hopes up because he’d done something polite after she’d bled in his bathroom.

“Why would you do that?” She found herself asking, staring at him in disbelief.

In all the months she’d dated Teddy, he’d never been so comfortable with the prospect of periods. He’d even shied away once when she complained about cramps; as if he was afraid he’d catch them or something. Certainly Jake wasn’t really as relaxed about all this as he was putting on.

Jake shook his head, “What do you mean _why_?”

Amy shrugged nervously, “I mean...you don’t have to…” she gestured between them vaguely, “We’re not...you know…”

The man frowned in confusion, “What the hell are you talking about, Santiago?”

She groaned in frustration, throwing her hands up in defeat as she accepted that there was going to be no explanation from him, “Give me the sweatpants, Peralta!”

He rushed forward and dumped the clothes in her arms, along with the pile of sanitary products. She wasn’t sure exactly why he’d brought all of them, clearly he’d swept a bathroom drawer and gathered up every single one. Still, it was incredibly sweet, so she tried not to overthink it more than she already had.

Amy excused herself to the bathroom and peeled off her ruined pants and underwear, sighing sadly at the sight of the destroyed slacks that were one of her favorite pairs. The curse of having a uterus. She balled them up and deposited them in his trash can, wondering if he planned to take it out soon.

Once she was settled and in the fresh, warm pajamas, she stopped for a moment at her expression in the mirror. She was standing in Jake Peralta’s bathroom, clad in cotton sweats and one of his baggy t-shirts that smelled so familiar...she realized it was _him._ A mixture of cheap laundry detergent (not exactly enticing) and the faint whiff of cologne and gel deodorant she was used to smelling. Crisp, cool, surprisingly clean, and very comforting.

She nestled into the shirt for a moment, breathing in the scent before she realized she probably looked psychotic. Friends didn’t smell their friend’s shirts.

Amy pulled the bathroom door open and poked her head out, noticing the kitchen had been haphazardly cleaned while she was in there. The unopened mail still sat on the counter, and a dim light from the adjoining living room told her that Jake had opened the Netflix menu already. The snacks were gone from the kitchen table, presumably moved to the coffee table in the living room, or maybe cleaned up with the remnants of the pizza.

She wandered out to the living room, ready to ask Jake if he wanted to start on his mail, before stopping in her tracks at what she walked into. Jake was sitting on the couch, one arm slung lazily over the back of it as he perused the Netflix menu casually, his sock-clad feet resting on the edge of the coffee table. The bag of sour worms was resting on his thighs, opened and facing him. On the table beside his feet was the bag of Takis and the limes, a few plastic water bottles, a bottle of Advil, a heating pad, and a tub of cookie dough.

Amy pressed a hand to her mouth to suppress her smile as she approached the couch, catching Jake’s attention. He looked up from the TV, offering her a small, shy smile that she wished more than anything she could press her own lips against.

“Hey.” He said nonchalantly.

“Hi.” She replied, glancing at the coffee table, “Quite a spread.”

He followed her gaze for a moment before looking back at her with a shrug. He said nothing, but his eyes watched her as if he was trying to gauge her reaction. Of course he wasn’t going to initiate any sort of real talk, she should know better.

Amy grabbed the Advil, knocked two back with some water, and sat beside him, reaching for the Takis. She sliced a lime in half and drizzled all the juices over the chips, closing the bag and shaking it up to distribute the flavor evenly. She didn’t miss Jake’s gaze moving to glance over at her frequently in her peripherals, but she didn’t know what it meant or what she should say.

They scrolled through the movies, bickering gently about which ones looked best. Finally, after twenty minutes of scrolling, somehow Jake convinced her to watch National Treasure, insisting Nic Cage would entice her.

She didn’t really care what movie they watched, honestly. It was enough just to feel the warmth of his body a few inches from hers.

The pair sat mostly quiet as the movie began, munching on their respective snacks, sharing quick glances when the other wasn’t looking.

About halfway through, Amy’s cramps started to ramp up, but she was too shy to reach for the heating pad on the table, so she just curled an arm across her middle and tucked her knees up against her chest in an effort to relieve the pain.

Jake glanced over at her, eyes combing across her posture change. Amy stared straight ahead at the TV, pretending she didn’t notice that he was staring.

“You good?” he asked quietly. Amy nodded, offering him a quick smile. He’d already done so much, the last thing she wanted to do was make him feel like she needed anything else.

Jake chewed on his lower lip for a moment, before he reached forward and plucked the heating pad off the coffee table. He plugged it into an outlet beside the couch and held it out to Amy, who sheepishly accepted it.

“Thank you.” she murmured, folding it across her stomach with a gentle _hmmm_ of relief, eyes closing for a brief moment.

When she reopened her eyes, Jake still hadn’t sat down. He was staring at her, expression unreadable. Was she being too much? Should she excuse herself and go home?

“Is everything okay?” she asked worriedly, shoulders stiffening a bit.

“Yeah.” He answered shortly. His arm stretched up behind him as he scratched his neck, fidgeting a bit, before he said, “You just look...cute...in my clothes.”

Amy glanced down in surprise, looking back up at him. Okay. _That_ was unexpected. She tried to ignore the way her heart jumped erratically at his wam words. Seriously? He was calling her cute after she’d bled all over her pants?

“T-thank you.” she stammered, wide-eyed, “You look cute in your clothes too.”

_Smooth._

Jake laughed a little breathlessly, “Thanks.”

He sat back down beside her, but this time, when he threw his arm over the back of the couch, his hand came down to nestle on her shoulder. Amy leaned into his grasp, seeking the comfort and warmth that radiated from him.

“Is this okay?” he asked in a barely audible whisper.

“Yes.” she murmured back, a little in awe of what was happening. She didn’t miss the way his thumb gently rubbed her arm, and couldn’t ignore how nice it felt to be touched by him this way. Even the tiniest of intimacies felt momentous with Jake.

“Hey, Amy?” he was looking at the TV now, but he addressed her quietly.

“Yeah, Jake?”

“Thanks for helping me with my budget.” It looked like he wanted to say more, but he stopped short, pursing his lips.

She understood. They were being more touchy-feely than she’d ever seen him. He wasn’t so great with emotions.

“That’s what friends do.” She said softly, “And...thank you for the clothes, and the tampons, and the food, and for not making fun of me.”

Jake snorted, “When did I say I wasn’t gonna make fun of you?”

Amy narrowed her eyes, glancing up at his face, “Do it and I never take another look at your budget. You can go back to living off the vending machine at the precinct.”

“Harsh! Alright, you’ve got a deal. I need my spendin’ money.”

Amy grinned, “To buy more tampons?”

“That’s it!” Jake scoffed in faux offense and began pulling his arm out from under her.

“No!” Amy resisted, grabbing his wrist and tucking it back around her, “It’s nice, Jake.”

He offered her an unreadable expression, “It is nice, Amy.”

They sat there for a moment, looking at each other silently. There was so much Amy wanted to say to him in that instant. That the way he’d treated her tonight was incredibly sweet. That she knew deep down beneath the goofiness and bravado, there was a genuinely kind, mature, selfless person. That if she had her way, they’d be making out on this couch while she slowly took his clothes off of both of them.

But she didn’t say that, and he said nothing too.

Then, after the moment had passed, Jake spoke, “How are you? I mean, the cramps?”

“Much better,” She assured him, “Thanks to you.”

Bashfully, he looked away, eyes focusing on the movie though she knew he wasn’t paying attention to it. It was quiet again after that, but his arm never moved from it’s secure place around her shoulders, thumb still rubbing soothing circles on her bicep.

She couldn’t be certain, but she was pretty sure as the credits began rolling and her eyes drifted shut, she felt a gentle kiss to her forehead.

Maybe she imagined it, maybe she didn’t, but either way, Jake Peralta came through for her tonight. And that was worth a million Thursdays spent looking at his budget.

Especially if she got to do it by his side.

**Author's Note:**

> i just have this headcanon that jake is very sweet and supportive of his girl when she's got the ole aunt flo and then this happened...whatra gonna do


End file.
